I think the Minister will agree with me the policy of a ministerial licence was from the outset overly bureaucratic and very arduous for parents. Many parents had to fight tooth and nail to get access for their children. I have always found it strange that with the more than 40 people who have ministerial licence, there is no joined-up thinking. There is no research done or joined-up thinking. The access programme gives that kind of joined-up thinking. Twenty people is a very small number to be benefiting from medi…

If the programme is not broadened in its conditions, I do not see it going anywhere for medical and commercial reasons. The Danish medical cannabis access programme has been open since 2018 and 2,500 patients have got medical cannabis products via prescription. Some of the conditions it is being prescribed for are not in the medical access programme here. One particular example of that is neuropathic pain. The evidence around the effect of cannabis on neuropathic pain is very good. Access programmes throughout the …

We saw during Covid-19, which is ongoing, the importance of laboratory scientists. A number of months ago those same laboratory scientists had to go on strike in relation to pay parity. What steps is the Minister taking to resolve this issue?

I welcome the fact a settlement may be possible in regard to the ongoing discussions. These laboratory scientists have waited for more than 20 years for pay parity. Some of their colleagues doing similar work have been paid about 8% more than them. They were very patient indeed. The strike was hugely popular, publicly. Obviously the laboratory scientists did not want to be on strike. They were compelled to go on strike because of that issue around equal pay for equal work. It is important that not only the pay issu…

Hopefully, this anomaly can be resolved. The workers have been waiting a considerable amount of time. Another issue the laboratory scientists have touched on relates to vacant posts in the profession. They said one in five posts are vacant. That is obviously worrying in the context of qualified staff such as those. Hopefully, those posts can be filled. The Minister cannot predict what could happen with regard to the WRC talks, but they sound positive. Hopefully, the matter will be resolved and some of these posts w…

Yesterday Professor Jack Lambert addressed the health committee in relation to the effects of long Covid-19. He is an infectious disease consultant at the Mater hospital and he painted a stark picture in regard to those suffering the symptoms of long Covid-19. He was quite critical of the present policy around treating those with long Covid-19. He cited an ambivalence in relation to his own medical profession towards those with long Covid-19. Long Covid-19 is interpreted as having more than three months of symptoms…

I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. It is very worthwhile to debate what is going on with disability services. As the Minister of State knows, people who have a disability are twice as likely to face discrimination than me and her. That is a fact. They will face discrimination in respect of consistent poverty, deprivation, isolation, employment, access to public services and housing. Those who have a disability who try to access housing is one of the key issues. There is a dearth of housing in Sou…

People Before Profit welcomes this Bill. It is quite progressive, as is the contraception scheme. Outpatient charges are not conducive to Sláintecare whatsoever. I think the Minister would agree with that. Most people listening will be asking themselves why we pay inpatient charges in the first place. This is welcome but there is a long way still to go. Children who attend the emergency department will still be charged €100 for every visit if they do not have a medical card. That is not progressive. The charges wil…

Sorry?

The €1.3 million was spent by the HSE on debt collectors.

I am trying to get that information. It would be very interesting to see how much money they actually gathered.

Charges should be abolished, full stop. The amount of bureaucracy that goes into this, between paying debt collectors and the administrative work involved in inpatient fees, is not efficient. This is in the context of the cost-of-living crisis many families are going through. This Bill is welcome so people will have to access healthcare and so forth. It is welcome that this is happening but there is a long way to go regarding stealth costs in our health system. The aim of Sláintecare is to have a universal healthca…

Has the Minister had any engagement with his Polish counterpart or the European Union on the current banning of abortion in Poland? This is in the context of Ukrainian women coming into Poland and being refused abortions when they have been raped by Russian soldiers.

The Polish people and Europe in general have shown amazing solidarity with Ukrainians who are fleeing their own country in the face of absolute barbarity by the Russian Federation. I am aware that there is an ongoing debate in Poland, which will be debated in the Polish Parliament as of today, in respect of the lifting of the ban on abortions, not only for Polish women but for anybody fleeing the situation in Ukraine. The rape of women as a weapon of war is the most heinous of crimes and I highlight the situation w…

In 2019, medical cannabis was recognised as a medical intervention. That was underpinned by legislation by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris. Nine months ago the medical cannabis access programme commenced. Many of us who campaigned for that programme were joyous. Since then only 12 patients have been prescribed medical cannabis under prescription for the first time under the health service. This is far too restrictive. People who need access have to go to the black market, some go abroad or worse still, …

I am sharing time with Deputy Paul Murphy. I welcome this important motion on respite care services. It is good we are talking about the issue but we have to view it in both a post-pandemic and a pre-pandemic light. Respite care services are a vital cog in the system of care. In a previous life, before being elected to the House, I worked in respite services so I understand their importance for family members and service users. For the people who work in respite and other care services, it has, to say the least, be…

Last week the Health Research Board, HRB, issued a report on drug treatment from 2015 to 2021. To say it made for sombre reading is an understatement. One of the main findings of the report relates to cocaine use in Ireland. Treatment for cocaine use soared by 171% over an eight-year period and cocaine has now overtaken heroin as the main problem drug in Ireland. While I, along with my party colleagues and many other Deputies in this House, welcome the harm reduction policy of the HSE and the Department of Health, …

Thirty-five children with cystic fibrosis have been excluded from accessing the drug Kaftrio. The reasons for their exclusion are primarily price and age. This is an ongoing dispute with the HSE and the manufacturer of the drug, Vertex. The families of those 35 children have been requesting a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, as soon as possible to clarify the situation. As the Minister will understand, the families do not want a protracted series of events going on for years, as has happened with other d…

This is not a new drug. It is a drug that has been-----

In the past number of days, two health unions - the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO - have made a significant statement on the state of the health service and the conditions of their members. Junior doctors have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action in response to long hours, deteriorating work conditions and, most worryingly, constant breaches of the European working time directive. Alarm bells are ringing for everybody in respect of our health service. If…